A little over a week ago I got a new printer and the inks and icing sheets from Icing Images. (They are very nice and friendly there!)
Anyway I am not sure if my house is too dry or what but I cannot seem to get my images to blend into my icing. Today I tried making sure my buttercream was soft and I even laid a damp paper towel over the cake for a few seconds before I added the image. No luck. I had printed the image only like 15-20 minutes before I added it to the cake. Then, about 15-20 minutes after that, the other little clip arts I had wanted to cut out were completely brittle. Am I doing something wrong? I have kept my bag of image sheets zipped up and I print it out right before I ice the cake....I thought they are supposed to melt into the icing. I have one to make in a couple of weeks and I don't want the image to be like paper on the top. Any more hints? (And yes I am using the right side of the icing image sheets LOL)
I did write Icing Images too so I will see what they say. Maybe I need to do that thing where you put a damp piece of paper towel in the icing image bag....but I just got them not 10 days ago, do they dry that fast?
Hi Kitagrl, I used to have that problem when I used
the rice paper , If you spray the back with a water mist just before you put it down. it helps . But if it's a frosting sheet that should not happen (it may be defective,) I've used the frosting sheets alot and
have never had that problem.
Some frosting sheets will be drier when you get them (quality and time spent in storage). They can be brittle if too dry. This does make cutting things out harder but the frosting sheet should still melt into your icing as long as it hasn't crusted over. You might want to try adding more liquid to your icing. I only use Kopykake sheets and I try to buy them from Kopykake directly on their website. These are the freshest sheets I've ever used which is important to me. I like them moist and flexible so they can be wrapped around corners or the sides of a round cake.
Kitagrl is keeping her frosting sheets sealed in the bag. She shouldn't have to seal a newly printed frosting sheet back in the bag if she's going to be using it within a few minutes. That should be the time that it is left out to dry. Being that her's were already dried out so much so that they were brittle, it's most likely a quality problem.
The instructions actually say to leave it out to dry 10-30 minutes and so I thought it was safe to leave them out that long.
However when I wrote the lady at I. I. she said I should put it back into a bag as soon as I printed it.
The images are pretty flexible as soon as I get them out of the bag but they dry really fast. I wonder if its a lack of humidity in my house?
My buttercream I made today was about as soft as I would want to make it...then added the damp paper towel for a short time as well. The image is doing better than last time but I can still see the edges and it still feels stiff instead of like icing. I don't want a customer to cut the cake and have the entire image slip off with the knife!
Sooo maybe I need a spray bottle next time....
I have only owned the images for like a week so they can't be old...and most people are happy with the service there... maybe next time I will try Kopykake though just to compare. (Oh wait just read the post above...hmmm..maybe my house is just too dry since its winter...)
Obviously is she agrees with the company that she should be keeping them in the bag prior to using them then she wasnt doing that otherwise, she wouldn't agree with them that that was her problem.
I do keep them in the storage bag until I print. But the instructions said to allow to dry 10-30 minutes before using so I thought it was safe to leave it out while I iced the cake. But now that the lady said to keep it in a bag as SOON as its out of the printer I will try that and maybe that is the problem.
I would definately try that, you should be fine. Also, the dryer the weather, the faster it will dry. You may want to try to peal it off sooner rather then later as the dryness in the air will cause the image to dry quicker. Just like in the summer, it takes longer to dry, hence the time 10-30 range! Let me know how it goes for you!
Thanks all! Maybe in the summer it won't be too bad, its humid here then!
The lady from I.I. wrote back and offered some samples of the other brand in case its my dry house. I have to say she is great! I have never worked with a better company.
I do love icing images...it combines the two things I love most...working on the computer and decorating cakes! 
If you're looking to try Kopykake, I would buy directly from their website rather than through another company. With other companies that only resell the sheets rather than make them, you don't really know how long they've been in storage or when they were made. Your sheets shouldn't be drying out like...dry house or not. I bought my Kopykake sheets from Sugarcraft a couple times and they were always drier than the sheets I got directly from the company.
I have only owned the images for like a week so they can't be old...and most people are happy with the service there... maybe next time I will try Kopykake though just to compare. (Oh wait just read the post above...hmmm..maybe my house is just too dry since its winter...)
The images could be old as they're made by another company and then resold. There's really no telling when they were made or how long they were in storage before you ordered them. I've dealt with many of the companies that produce, sell and resell edible imaging supplies and they've all been courteous, nice and helpful without exception but if the product doesn't perform well...
I use Icing Images sheets and inks and have never had a problem with them. I don't make that many images (it took almost a year for me to use my first pack of 24 sheets) and the last sheet worked as well as the first sheet. You do have to keep them sealed properly, and I do put the printed image in a zip bag. I've actually printed the image the day before using it and it was still moist in the bag!!
You may be right about your house being dry. We have our heat on in the winter and it does make the air in the house drier. I always keep a barometer in my workroom so I can adjust accordingly. You might want to boil water during this process to get some humidity in the air. Of course, you could always get a humidifier. You'll probably find that your skin won't feel as dry and their won't as much static electricity in the air.
Let us know how this works out!!
Actually, they have their own brand with their own Kosher certificate. they relabled many years ago, but now they have their own brand. I called to be sure.
They do have their own brand that carries their company name in the same way a "house" brand food item at the grocery store has it's own brand but they don't manufacture the icing sheets. They're a reseller which in my experience can sometimes lead to old stock. It's not a problem singular to them. Sugarcraft has the same issue but they're not overly dry, just not as moist and flexible as those I buy direct.
Try a barometer. I think you'll be surprised. I got one mainly to be sure that my workroom wasn't too humid when I'm working with fondant. I was surprised to learn that the room is usually at 50% humidity in the middle of summer!! But, it's because the refrigerators and freezers give off some heat and keep the room dry.
I tested this theory because I had noticed that working with fondant in my kitchen was a pain, but when my workroom was completed, I didn't seem to have the 'sticking' problem anymore.
I have even purchased a portable air conditioner so I can get the room really cool when I working with fondant. But I would never have known the humidity level without the barometer. I bought mine for less than $10 at Radio Shack.
Yep Peaches is right...she used to be a reseller but now they make their own. Very fresh!
Its my dry house, I know it is. Actually I just spent alot of money on hypoallergenic soap and lotions to help one of my sons with his terrible dry skin.
They don't make their own and if they told that, they weren't being truthful. Their "house" brand are supplied by PhotoFrost (PF) to this day. They buy them in bulk for resale and do not own or operate a facility to manufacture them. "Very fresh" frosting sheets will actually take more than a day to dry not minutes and often need to be dried using a heat source. To become brittle, it would take several days exposed to open air. You probably got a bad batch which I'm not saying happens all the time but in this case, it did. I'd call the company and ask for a new, fresh batch.
Hi everyone, I recently begin working with edible images. I purchased wafer paper from Tastyfoto since that is where I purchased my ink. I find that the wafer paper tastes somewhat like paper. Just printed out 100 heart pictures for a wedding in a couple of weeks but I am really concerned about the paper taste. Never tried the frosting sheets but heard they were difficult since there is backing that has to be carefully peeled off. Wafer paper is easy since there is no backing. Any suggestions. I still have time to order frosting sheets if you all think that they work and taste better. Help!!!!
Yep, gotta keep them little suckers moist til you put them on the cake. Keep em out of the light too. Makes the colors fade somewhat. If you have a prob with em getting brittle. I found a way to fix that. I mist em VERY lightly with water either from a mister bottle or an airbrush, and sometimes I mist the area on the cake too where the image will sit. Let the water soak in for bout a minute then peel em off the backing and works great.
Hi everyone, I recently begin working with edible images. I purchased wafer paper from Tastyfoto since that is where I purchased my ink. I find that the wafer paper tastes somewhat like paper. Just printed out 100 heart pictures for a wedding in a couple of weeks but I am really concerned about the paper taste. Never tried the frosting sheets but heard they were difficult since there is backing that has to be carefully peeled off. Wafer paper is easy since there is no backing. Any suggestions. I still have time to order frosting sheets if you all think that they work and taste better. Help!!!!
bush1...
I haven't tried wafer paper as of yet, but to me the frostings sheets don't really have a taste. I haven't had any problems with them coming off the backing. Depending on the humidity, they will either pop right off even when I don't want them to..lol, or I just pop them in the freezer for few seconds and they come right off.
My icing sheets have left a bit of papery stuff on the top, I think the part exposed to my dry air in my house gets dried too fast....but the rest does do okay. I have been misting my cake surface but I don't mist the top because it messes up the ink.
I think this spring when we turn off our oil heat, I will stop having so many problems. I got another brand of sheets and I have the same issues so I know for sure it is my dry house.
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